Jamie Cullum releases his inner Momentum

After buying this album yesterday after its long awaited release, I've had it on constant repeat! Jamie Cullum's brand new album, Momentum, is one of those album that it is impossible to not love or to ever stop listening to.

Jamie is an English, jazz/pop singer and songwriter and has had five previous albums and burst into the music industry after the release of 'Twentysomething' in 2003. He is probably most well known for the stunning 'High & Dry'. His unique talent and sound have led him to win several awards for his successes. Jamie is also a multi-instrumentalist, so when combined with his ability to sing, write and produce music, this takes his talents to another level! 





Cullum signed up with Island Records for this album and it has been said to be "brimful of powerful songs" and I can't fail to agree! Jamie went back to basics to create Momentum and used home demos, iPhone apps, charity shop keyboards and cassette records to build up the basic shell of this brilliant album. It's a true combination of beautiful jazzy sounds and pop-y beats, as well as Jamie's rustic voice and it can't fail but to be a hit. The album features twelve songs, including the lead single 'Everything You Didn't Do' and a captivating cover of 'Pure Imagination'. There is also a deluxe version available, which includes three extra tracks as well as several live versions of songs from the album, recorded at London's famous Abbey Road Studios.

ORIGINAL ALBUM TRACK LISTING
1. The Same Things
2. Edge of Something
3. Everything You Didn't Do
4. When I Get Famous
5. Love For $ale (feat. Roots Manuva)
6. Pure Imagination
7. Anyway
8. Sad, Sad World
9. Take Me Out (Of Myself)
10. Save Your soul. 
11. Get a Hold of Yourself
12. You're Not the Only One

DELUXE EDITION BONUS TRACKS
13. Momentum
14. Unison.
15. Comes Love
16. Everything You Didn't Do (Live at Abbey Road)
17. Sad, Sad World (Live at Abbey Road)
18. Love For $ale (Live at Abbey Road)
19. Pure Imagination (Live at Abbey Road)
20. You're Not the Only One (Live at Abbey Road)
21. Save Your Soul (Live at Abbey Road) 



Regarding my favourite track from this album, it would have to be either, Everything You Didn't Do, Save Your Soul, Anyway, When I Get Famous or You're Not the Only One. But as you can probably tell, there is no clear winner regarding a favourite on this album because every time you think you've found it, the next song will play and all of a sudden, that's your favourite! It's a vicious circle of incredible songs.

I have a true love for Jamie Cullum and his music and I hope to one day see him live. If you haven't heard any of his previous music, then I highly recommend that you do, along with this album! Also check out Jamie on various social networking sites - Jamiecullum.com, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.

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Mike Rosenberg aka Passenger

I can't quite understand how and why it has taken people so long to discover the supreme unique talent that is Mike Rosenberg, or more well known by his stage name Passenger - a name coming from a previous band he was in before they split. 

For those of you that still don't know who Passenger is, then he is a British Folk/Rock singer and songwriter, that you definitely need to check out! Having suddenly made a statement in the music industry, he is now being discovered by many and his getting the recognition he finally deserves. Despite all this, he doesn't pride himself on success or fame but the intimacy of his live performances. 

After discovering Passenger as a support act on Ed Sheerans tour I instantly fell in love with him and his mind blowing voice. His voice is enough to put anyone into a state of pure calm and relaxation. And yet some of his songs provide you with amazing beats that make you want to stomp around the room with joy. The emotion that went into the recordings of his songs, come across so effectively in his live performances, that is easy to see that this is a man who has a real love for music and performing. His raw talent and his ability to provide these things to awaiting ears, make him one of my favourite artists. 

One of the songs that he sang when I saw him live was Let Her Go, which made the whole of the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham stop and listen to him creating beautiful sounds from simply his voice and his guitar, before the whole crowd launched into a complete uproar of cheers, screams and shouts. Passenger's talent had been discovered in Nottingham, he had made his mark. It's not so surprising then that Let Her Go has reached Number 4 this week in the UK top 40 Singles Chart!

Other songs that he sang included All the Little Lights (also the title of his current album), Holes (due to be his second single from the album) and I Hate (which is a hilarious song that looks at his hate for several things in the world, including The X Factor, Facebook, festival toilets and people that go to see shows and spend the whole time talking - and involves a lot of audience participation!)

His album, All The Little Lights, as pictured above, has also become a huge hit, reaching Number 6 in the Album Chart this week! I bought this album straight after seeing him live and without a doubt, it is one of my favourite albums of all time. There are so many amazing songs on this album, that there is one for every mood. It features a studio recorded CD as well as an acoustic CD - this is when you really see how much of a true, raw talent that Passenger is. No fancy editing, no backing tracks, just one mans voice and his guitar. Phenomenal.

My favourite track from the album has to be Feather On The Clyde - a song that looks at the two sides of life, the happy and the sad. Passenger looks at it from the sadder side, wanting to get to the happier side when deeply missing someone and wanting to move on, but not having the strength to. He sings about this through the metaphor of someone being a feather floating in the middle of a river in Scotland called The Clyde. It's a truly breath taking song, and one you can check out here -Passenger featuring Emma Louise and Stu Larsen - Feather On The Clyde

Passenger is without a doubt one of my favourite artists by far and I don't think I'll ever fall out of love with his music. He is a pure talent with honest and emotional music, who is clearly going onto great things - it's just a shame it's taken him so long to be discovered in order for him to put it well earned mark on the current music industry.

For more information on Passenger visit these websites - Website Twitter Facebook YouTube 

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Mark Owen - Stars

Stars is the brand new single from Take That's very own Mark Owen and features on his up and coming album The Art of Doing Nothing. Having not released any solo material since 2005, this is very exciting for Take That/Mark Owen fans across the world, just like myself!

The artwork for the single (as shown above) is very simplistic, featuring Mark stood looking at pencil drawn stars on strings, and with his hand written name and single name placed next to him. I'm a big fan of basic artwork and so I really like the way this is designed. I think it reflects the simplicity of the single and the whole album in fact. Massive artists always seem to be making a huge fuss, working in numerous studios with various producers, yet Mark is able to strip things back, work along side very few people and still make such a beautiful sounding song. All the vocals, pianos and guitars on Stars were recorded in his very own studio at the bottom of his garden, named 'The Rabbit Hutch'. This is one of the many reason I love and admire Mark, he is able to take on a challenge, do it in his own simple way and make something great of it! 

The bridge and chorus of the song is as follows - 

'From the top of the empire

To a state unknown

If I said that I'm leaving

Just got to hang on

Cus' we're just Stars

Tryin' to get back to where we're from

And one by one

We're gonna leave this planet

So don't look back

Cos' you known that it's all just time

When you've got nothing on your mind

You've made it'

And so when listening to the song, I interpreted that its looking at the idea that no matter where you are in life, either right at the top - 'At the top of the empire' or right at the bottom - 'To a state unknown' - you have to keep a positive outlook out on life and do what feels right at the time, because when it comes to the end, you don't want to look back and have regrets. 

The video for the single is very different and features Mark walking around the streets of Berlin in a space suit before returning home to his family, who are also in space suits. I love the video and it is one of the most innovative I've seen this year and is defiantly one of my favourites! 

Watch the video below -

I think I, along with so many other fans, can conclude that Stars is an amazing single and is set to be a huge hit! I'm also very excited for The Art of Doing Nothing which is set for release on the 10th of June, after finally pre-ordering my copy today! (pre-order yours here if you haven't already - Mark Owen - TAODN (Standard Edition) or Mark Owen - TAODN (Deluxe Edition))

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